


Resistance

by mrex



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben is a brat, Crack, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Friendship, Jedi Ben Solo, Jedi Rey, Male-Female Friendship, One Shot, Redeemed Ben Solo, Rey is super serious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 08:58:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17220875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrex/pseuds/mrex
Summary: Ben and Rey have just completed a dangerous mission when they receive some unexpected news.





	Resistance

By the third night of Akiva's Festival of Liberation, the party is in full swing and threatening to spill out of control. The streets of Myrra are spectacular with colorful clothing, festive music, and delicious-smelling food. Men wear eye masks and hoods; women hide their lower faces with veils and weave colorful ribbons into elaborate hair styles. Alcohol flows freely, sometimes dusted with spice, sometimes with more dangerous intoxicants.

All over the city, lovers meet behind buildings and on park benches. Some dance in the street. Others stealthily trade caresses while watching performers, or share kisses, long and lazy, by the shore of the lake.

A tall man stumbles into an empty alley, pulling his companion behind him, pressing her to the wall and caging her between his arms. A completely unremarkable scene on this celebratory evening. To all the city, they look like any other drunken couple. But, from deep within his hood, Ben Solo keeps a keen eye on the street, shielding Rey as she types an encryption code on her wristcomm and sends a message:

TARGET ACQUIRED AND DELIVERED.  
WAITING NEXT ORDERS.

Their eyes meet while they wait for the response, the green-gold of Rey's Festival tunic and veil picking out sparks in her heavily-lined eyes. Ben bends and nuzzles at her neck, simply acting his role, of course. Against her will, Rey's breath catches, and her eyelids flutter for a moment.

 _Next time, warn me before you do that,_ she chastises him.

_I think you like it._

_I think it's distracting. And dangerous._

_Dangerous how? Care to elaborate, Madam Jedi?_

Their unspoken banter is familiar, and enjoyable, but they still have work to do. Rey's comm vibrates, and she places the flat of her hand on Ben's chest, pushing him back a bit. "Shh. Wait."

RECEIPT CONFIRMED.

The screen indicates that more message is coming, so Rey waits. Ben still checks the street, but his heart races underneath her hand. Almost without thinking, his left hand strokes her hair. It calms him, a bit.

MISSION COMPLETE.

Rey breathes a sigh of relief. But the comm has still more to say. Rey can't believe her eyes as she translates the encryption:

CPTS. SOLO AND REY:  
IN APPRECIATION OF YOUR SERVICE, PLANET LEAVE GRANTED.  
THREE STANDARD DAYS.  
MEET AT RONDEZVOUS POINT IN 75 STANDARD HOURS.  
\- END MESSAGE -

"Did you see that?" asks Rey in disbelief as the coded message disappears.

"Mmm-hmm," purrs Ben, at her neck again. "We really need to get you a last name, Rey." He switches sides, to better see down the dark alley.

"Planet leave. They've never given us planet leave before." Rey is starry-eyed. She has never had a day all to herself, starting from the moment she was handed off to Unkar Plutt. She imagines walking through museums and studying art. Gardens. Every garden in the city.

Awestruck, she confirms with Ben: "Is that really what it said?"

"You can visually decode encryption as easily as I can, Rey," he sighs, pulling away from her. He wants to be annoyed at her interruption, but he's never seen this look of wonder in her eyes before.

He loves it.

"Hmm, I wonder what we could possibly do for 75 hours," Ben grins, reaching his right hand beneath his cloak, toward his waistband...

...and pulls his lightsaber, igniting it just in time to deflect the laser bolt aimed at his head. The bolt richochets back to the shooter who collapses in a heap on the cobblestones.

With no time for encryption or typing, Rey hits the "Voice" button on her comm and screams:

**"We've been compromised! Kill this channel!"**

Hoping the message sent, Rey swings her arm out and smashes the comm into the forehead of another attacker, knocking him to the ground. Two more assassins step from the shadows, but quickly realize their mistake in taking on the last two Jedi in the known galaxy.

Once their attackers are dispatched, Ben holds his hand out to Rey and shouts one word: "Run!"

***

At the end of the long alleyway, they pause. Senses burning, they reach out, looking for danger. Ben berates himself for the close call. He should know better than to get lost in her like that. He already knows the dangers of Rey's pretty eyes.

Certain they have shaken off any other followers, they enter the street, resuming the drunken lovers act to amble-shamble their way to their lodging room. It's the nicest that the Resistance has put them in so far. Two large beds stand at one end of the room, with a sofa and holovid infotainment unit in the middle, and a private refresher at the other end - which Rey intends to take full advantage of as soon as she sets something straight.

Her eyes are sharp as knives again as soon as the main door softly clicks shut. Rey rips off the veil disguising her face, while Ben slowly removes his hood and mask. "Don't you _ever_ do that again," she hisses, poking a finger into Ben's chest. _"I'm_ running point on this mission; _I_ say when we run."

"You, uh, weren't ready to run?" Ben gently grasps the finger jabbing him in the chest and starts messaging Rey's wrist where she struck the first assassin. He steps closer and looks deep into her eyes. "Because I was pretty sure that was going to be your next order."

Closer still, he brings his lips to her ear to whisper, "Besides, the mission was _over."_

Rey stares at him, dumbstruck. Then she shakes her head - _you moofmilker_ \- pulls her hand from his and stalks away toward the 'fresher. "Get yourself under control. I'm taking a bath."

"Need any help?"

Rey's boot flies toward Ben's head (which he expects).

He ducks out of the way (which she expects).

The refresher door closes with a soft _click,_ followed by a _clunk_ as Rey flips the lock. The lock itself isn't enough to keep him out, but he'll respect its clear message: _Not yet._

***

 _Not yet, Ben,_ Rey thinks as she leans back against the door, eyes closed. This isn't the old way; attachments are not forbidden. But their lives are too uncertain, the state of the galaxy is still in flux.

_When?_

She moves to the mirror and begins pulling the complicated Festival ribbons from her hair and wiping the glitterdust from her cheeks and lips. She thinks of Ben, tall and handsome in his bright blue hooded tunic. Between the mask and the beard he grew out for added anonymity, he looked like some kind of space pirate, a dashing rogue from a holovid story. According to tradition, the glitter on their lips was supposed to be shared via kissing, which of course Ben was all for. Rey regrets, just a bit if she's completely honest, insisting that they spread it on with their fingers.

They _had_ kissed once, during an early mission, and Rey's stomach goes fluttery, remembering. Another near-death situation; it would be almost routine now. But that first time, when she thought he was dying, when he thought she was dying, the fear and relief and adrenaline pushed them together before they realized what was happening.

Since then, there have been a few close calls. Once after a tense, but successful, sabaac game with a dozen refugees' lives on the line. Once during a long, moonlit stakeout in Salis D'aar, during the blooming of the namana trees, their heady scent a known aphrodisiac. And tonight, in the alley, riled up on success and the party atmosphere. Even when Ben's just playacting, it's more and more difficult for Rey to resist him.

And, given that this was only their fourth mission together, their track record for close calls was... not great.

These situations might be a little easier to resist if either of them would stop volunteering for undercover assignments that required them to pose as a couple.

***

Ben gulps back a gasp when Rey emerges from the 'fresher. Freed from the foolish knots and ribbons, her damp hair reclaims its slight wave. The heavy eye makeup is gone. Her skin is clean except for one tiny sparkle that winks at the edge of her cheekbone, daring him to brush it away.

All the glamorous Festival trappings are wasted on Rey; she doesn't need them.

And her outfit... It's just a simple tunic with black leggings, in the local style, but she should know what that particular shade of red does to him.

From the smirk on her face, he suspects that she does.

Rey gestures towards the 'fresher door. "All yours."

 _I wish,_ Ben thinks, speechless still.

But his wit returns as he walks into the refresher room. Just before the door clicks shut, he sticks his head back out and grins at Rey.

"Care to join me?"

The door clicks shut just in time for Rey's _other_ boot to bounce off of it.

**Author's Note:**

> References for this story:  
> [Akiva](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Akiva)  
> [Festival of Liberation](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Festival_of_Liberation)  
> [Myrra](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Myrra)  
> [Salis D'aar (Legends)](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Salis_D'aar)  
> [Namana (Legends)](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Namana) \- not listed as an aphrodisiac but Wookieepedia notes that "refined products were slightly addictive, stimulating the pleasure centers of human brains." Close enough!
> 
> Thank you for reading and please leave a comment or ask a question!


End file.
